Manchester United vs. Liverpool: 5 things to know about soccer teams in Columbia friendly

One of the biggest rivalries in English soccer is making a stop in Columbia on Saturday.

Manchester United and Liverpool will meet at Williams-Brice Stadium in a preseason friendly as a part of the Rivals in Red U.S. tour as both teams ramp up preparations for their English Premier League campaigns.

Liverpool topped Spanish side Real Betis 1-0 in its first friendly in the United States and will take on Arsenal on Wednesday before Saturday’s matchup against Manchester United, which fell to Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday and will play Real Betis on Wednesday.

A historic rivalry between two of England’s most successful clubs

Liverpool and Manchester United’s rivalry, sometimes called the Northwest Derby, stretches back to the first match played between the two teams in 1894.

While the two clubs don’t reside in the same city and aren’t as geographically close to their other local rivals, their relative proximity and historic success has made for one of the fiercest rivalries in English soccer.

Historically, Liverpool and Manchester United are far and away the most successful clubs in England. Manchester United has won the most English top division titles of any team with 20, while Liverpool has 19. The Reds are the most successful English team in Europe, boasting six Champions League titles and a total of 14 European trophies.

Manchester United holds an advantage in the all-time series of 214 competitive games between the two teams, with 83 victories to Liverpool’s 71 — the teams have drawn 60 times. Saturday’s matchup will be just the fourth friendly between the two clubs, all of which have come in the last decade.

The rivals drew in both Premier League matchups last season, but the Red Devils prevailed with a dramatic 4-3 extra time victory in March’s FA Cup quarterfinal. Manchester United went on to win the FA Cup trophy in May, while Liverpool claimed its most recent trophy with a victory in February’s EFL Cup final.

Manchester United and Liverpool recent performances

While both teams won trophies last season, their recent performances in the Premier League haven’t met each club’s standard.

Liverpool won its first Champions League title since 2005 in 2019 and claimed its first league trophy since 1990 when it beat Manchester City to the title in 2020. However, the club has finished fifth and third in its last two seasons and hired a new coach in Arne Slot after former coach Jurgen Klopp stepped down at the end of last season.

Manchester United just suffered its worst league finish since 1990 last season, coming in eighth place under head coach Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils haven’t won a Premier League title since legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Both teams boast high-profile talents

While preseason soccer provides clubs an opportunity to give young players more time in the first and give some of its biggest stars more rest, especially after a summer featuring multiple international tournaments, both sides boast high-profile players that are likely to feature in Saturday’s matchup.

Manchester United and England internationals Marchus Rashford and Jadon Sancho will both be available, as will five-time Champions League winner and former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro. The Red Devils will also have 18-year-old French center back Lany Yoro, who they recently acquired from Lille for a reported $75.7 million including add-ons.

Liverpool has less of its stars available for Saturday’s match, but fans will likely get to see one of the best attackers in the world in Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on Saturday, who features in the Reds’ touring squad along with Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and young English forward Harvey Elliot.

Manchester United and Liverpool have strong American ties

The Reds and the Red Devils both have large groups of supporters internationally and in the U.S., and they’ll no doubt be at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night. Their large global brands and commercial success result in their status as the two most valuable English clubs, according to Forbes.

Both teams are also owned by Americans. The Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are majority owners of Manchester United while Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, are majority owners of Liverpool.

How to get tickets and how to watch

Resale tickets for Saturday’s friendly on Ticketmaster start at $88 in the upper deck while the cheapest tickets in the lower deck range between around $140 and $280, as of Monday. More information related to stadium policies and parking can be found here.

The game will be televised on ESPN in English and ESPN Deportes in Spanish.